Carrying It Through to the End

Anyone caught in the path of a large-scale jutsu might avoid the direct impact of the first wave, but there was no escaping the second wave of damage—or the jutsu's lingering effects... unless they could use Space-Time Ninjutsu to leave the battlefield.

After Hanyu's Water Release, the training ground had become a vast pool. In this environment, he could make better use of his abilities... Although he could use Fire Release now, it was only a single jutsu. Most of the techniques Hanyu had mastered were still Water Release.

Add the mist generated by Fire Release's searing heat, and the three-person squad of Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade was effectively cut off from one another in the flooded training ground.

Launching an attack with smooth coordination was practically impossible... Hanyu had barely thought that when reality slapped him in the face.

Don't forget: although his opponents were young, they were the most talented kind of shinobi. And... Hanyu wasn't the only one who could use large-scale jutsu.

First came the shrill whistle of blades slicing through the air. Then, they swarmed in a dense mass.

Hanyu looked up. Shuriken that blotted out the sky were hurtling toward him... It was Sarutobi Hiruzen's Ninjutsu: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique. The damned Third had actually taught a child an A-rank jutsu of such staggering difficulty. Wasn't he worried the kid wouldn't be able to learn it?

Well, at least Orochimaru could definitely learn it.

To avoid being turned into a human pincushion, Hanyu swiftly darted farther back across the water. He soon cleared the densest part of the mist, and visibility around him began to improve.

He'd dodged just in time. But before he could regain his footing, he suddenly felt the water beneath him stir. Then a pair of hands shot out of the ground, half a meter below the surface!

Earth Release: Headhunter Jutsu.

The attack came from a precise angle and, in theory, should have caught Hanyu by both feet. But the attacker seemed to have forgotten that the ground was covered by a layer of water. Even if he stretched out his short arms to bridge that tiny gap, the brief delay was enough to rob the jutsu of its surprise.

The moment Hanyu sensed Jiraiya's attack, he lightly sprang backward to evade it again. But that was when the enemy's follow-up came.

The mist in front of him churned violently as a figure skimmed toward him above the water, like a Flying Swallow.

So Jiraiya had only been a feint? Someone—Tsunade—had hurled his teammate, Orochimaru, at Hanyu like a projectile.

Already airborne, Hanyu seemed to have no choice but to watch himself get knocked out of the sky.

But that was only how it looked. Even caught off guard, Hanyu's hands were already clasped together. He shifted them, forming another seal.

Water surged across the ground toward the point where Hanyu was about to land. Then, centered there, an even greater torrent burst forth like a massive geyser... If the Water Dragon Bullet had been a fierce, swift jab, this jutsu was a swinging sledgehammer: slow in appearance, but unstoppable.

Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave. Hanyu completed his final jutsu.

Water Shockwave (B), Exploding Water Colliding Wave (B), and Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave (A) were three power levels of the same jutsu. With Hanyu's chakra reserves, Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave was out of the question. Exploding Water Colliding Wave, along with the jutsu he'd already used, had drained him dry.

In fact, that single jutsu had consumed more than seventy percent of his chakra. Objectively speaking, unless it was a battle involving entire armies, a technique like this was hardly necessary in a one-on-one fight—or even a small-scale group battle.

A violent, heavy torrent slammed down. Jiraiya, who had buried himself underground, stood no chance of escaping under the water pressure. He'd essentially dug himself a hole and buried himself in it.

Orochimaru fared only marginally better. He hurtled straight into the wall of water like a crashing wave, and Tsunade, farther away, was swept up in it too.

Hanyu's final jutsu had driven the three-person team into a desperate situation. But with his chakra depleted, could he still land a finishing blow?

He could.

Earlier, his three Water Clones had only briefly engaged the three opponents, striking and withdrawing before slipping into the water. Now they were moving through it at astonishing speed, dragging Tsunade and Orochimaru, who had been caught in the Exploding Water Colliding Wave, deeper beneath the surface.

The Second Hokage wasn't merely the strongest Water Release user; he was also known as the fastest shinobi. He'd been obsessed with speed his entire life. Aside from Flying Thunder God, he had another jutsu that let him move at high speed through water: Water Release: Wave Riding Strike.

Hanyu stood shakily atop the water. The training ground's clamorous current gradually settled until all that remained in the quiet cove was the faint sound of droplets falling from his body—like tiny ripples that appeared and vanished in an instant...

The combat training was over.

Hanyu's clones dragged the oxygen-starved trio out of the water. This was only combat training, after all. They couldn't just leave them to drown.

"So, what do you think? Pretty impressive, huh?" Sanshao asked Kagami Uchiha, who had watched the whole thing from the sidelines.

At Sanshao's reminder, Kagami finally came back to his senses. His expression seemed normal enough, but his voice was anything but calm. "It's not a question of whether he's impressive. He's just... so unusual. He combines different jutsu and seals together. How does he do it? How is that even possible?"

Kagami could roughly understand what Hanyu had done, but even though he'd watched it all through his Sharingan, he couldn't figure out how Hanyu had managed it.

Kagami recognized every jutsu Hanyu used, but the way he arranged and combined the seals was completely incomprehensible. Kagami imagined what would happen if he encountered an opponent like that on the battlefield and tried to copy one of his jutsu... He'd accomplish nothing except make himself look like a complete idiot.

As Kagami sank into a deep crisis of self-doubt, Hanyu had already brought the unconscious trio over.

"Um, Sensei Sanshao, I think I might've gone a little too far," Hanyu said awkwardly. He really shouldn't have picked on children, even if, for a moment there, the kids had been able to beat him in battle.

Jiraiya and the others looked a little worse for wear. Even Tsunade, a beauty—no, even Tsunade, a little girl, didn't look worth admiring with her eyes rolled back and foam at her mouth.

"It's fine. I'd already expected this when I brought them here. Letting them suffer a little will do them good." Sanshao seemed to have deliberately wanted Jiraiya and the others to face a setback, to keep them from thinking too highly of themselves. She took Tsunade into her arms and gave her a brief examination before continuing, "There's no doubt your tactics would be effective in a real battle. Anyone facing them for the first time would be overwhelmed... That makes the direction of your next training clear. First, your chakra reserves: they need to be enough to sustain you in battle. Second, it's not just Fire Release—you need to master a third Chakra Nature Transformation as soon as possible."

Mixing just two nature transformations wasn't enough to fully bring out Hanyu's potential. To truly catch his enemies off guard, he needed to master at least three types of nature transformation.

Translated, Sanshao's meaning was quite simple...

If you're going to chase thrills, then see it through to the end.